Chapter 32.3, Problem 2SB

Summary Introduction

To review:

The largest and fewest number of species among the taxonomic groups Amniota, Gnathostomata, and Tetrapoda.

Introduction:

Amniotes are known to lay eggs on land because an egg has a protective membrane, which protects the fetus from the external surroundings. Amniote includes almost all the animals that are terrestrial including reptiles, birds, and mammals. Amniotes evolved themselves to provide a wet condition in order to provide nourishment and development of the fetus inside.

Gnathostomata is the group of vertebrates, which has jaws and appendages that are paired. Hard skull and calcified bones are a few of the distinctive features of Gnathostomata. Tetrapods, as the name suggests, are the vertebrates that possess four limbs. Mammals and reptiles, including birds, comprise a major part of the tetrapods.